Maude Allen on AllMovie

A noted stage actress, Maude Allen made only very infrequent visits to the screen -- The Moth (1917), the French-language version of The Big Pond -- until the mid-'30s when she began turning up in bit parts in scores of Hollywood films. Today, Allen is remembered only for playing the original Duchess, the hero's indomitable aunt, in the 1940s Republic serial Adventures of Red Ryder. Although she was billed Maude Allen in the serial's trailer, she became Maude Pierce Allen in the credits of the actual chapter play. In the subsequent Red Ryder series starring William Elliott, the character of the Duchess was played by Alice Fleming. Allen, meanwhile, did a few additional supporting roles before retiring in 1942.